Our Team

Gary Farina, Executive Director

Born in Vineland, New Jersey, Gary Farina joined the Marine Corps after graduation and spent 8 years serving in the Marines. He was called into the ministry in 2004 and attended seminary before being called to serve as the full-time minister of Discipleship and Singles at Millbrook Baptist Church in 2012. In 2013, after being asked to visit someone who was incarcerated for drugs, Gary began pursuing a calling on his life to help individuals struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.

After years of sharing the love of Christ with these men and women, God gave Gary the vision for the development of Recovery Road Ministries, for which he now serves as the executive director. Gary and his wife, Chris, have been married for 40 years, and they have 4 children and 9 grandchildren.

Nick Gallam, President

Captain Nick Gallam is the Jail Administrator for the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office Detention Division, where he has been employed for 20 years. He dedicated eleven years of service to his country as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corp Reserve and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Additionally, Nick obtained an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science in Criminal Justice from Aiken Technical College.

Nick has been married to his wife Jessica for 22 years and they have two beautiful children, Madelyn (18) and Mason (9).

Sandy Gunter, Treasurer

Sandy Gunter was born in Columbia, SC. She attended Midlands Technical College where she earned her degree in business, specializing in accounting and taxation. Sandy moved to Aiken, South Carolina in 1992, where she now owns a tax and accounting firm.

She enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. She attends Millbrook Baptist Church and volunteers on the Singles Ministry Team. Sandy serves as treasurer for Recovery Road Ministries.

 

Ashley Finch, Secretary

Ashley Finch is the Agent in Charge for Aiken County’s Probation Office and has been
employed with the department since 2005 and the Agent in Charge since 2016.  Born and raised in South Carolina, Ashley graduated from Coker College with a BA in Technical Theatre.

He is married to his wife, Tracy, and they are loving parents to their teenage daughter, Ansley, who loves to dance. Ashley spends his time off as a dance dad, the audio-visual technician for his church, and a photographer. He serves as Secretary for Recovery Road Ministries.

 

Cori O’Steen, Women’s Director

Cori joined the board of Recovery Road Ministries in July of 2017 and helped to play an integral part in fundraising, facility development, and program design.  When the doors opened in September of 2019, the call she felt to be more hands-on led Cori to become the Women’s director over our Women’s Home in Graniteville.

Cori and her Husband Beau own UpakNShip, which is a shipping supply-focused packaging business that has locations in both Graniteville, South Carolina, and Ontario, California.

Cori is also a co-founder in a new manufacturing facility her company UpakNShip co-owns with their overseas manufacturers, called Legacy Pack, which is located in their current Graniteville location.  The mission is inspired by their daughter Caylee, one of their three children, to expand their ability to employ as they have been doing for years, residents and graduates of Recovery Road Ministries as well as other “hard to employ” individuals seeking genuine life change through opportunity.

Stuart Johnson, Board Member

Stuart Johnson is the Vice-President of Operations at Family Pharmacy/Family Pharmacy South Aiken/Aiken Compounding Pharmacy.  Prior to his current role in business, Stuart served eight (8) years in local law enforcement, both as a narcotics investigator with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office and as public safety officer with the Aiken Department of Public Safety.  After his law enforcement career, Stuart attended law school and practiced law for a few years, after which he transitioned into his current position.  Stuart holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  

Stuart is married with two girls and is a member of Cedar Creek Church.  Prior to joining the Recovery Roads Ministries Board, Stuart served on other local boards and committees.  

 

Amanda Crooks,  Board Member

Amanda Crooks brings more than 19 years of case management, counseling, and career development experience to the Board of Recovery Road.  She was born and raised in the mountains of North Carolina and moved to Aiken in 2005. 

Amanda has a Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in Counseling from Campbell University in North Carolina, with post-graduate work in Rehabilitation Counseling.  She has provided intensive service to at-risk populations with vast social and cultural diversity through both non-profit and government-based programs.  Working alongside individuals on the journey of recovery has been a significant part of Amanda’s service and passion.  She also lost a close family member in active addiction to suicide.

Amanda is currently a Certified Professional Coach and a Certified Master of Career Services.  She manages medical case management, client programming, and outreach with HopeHealth in Aiken and is a Coach and Global Presenter for TaskHuman.  Amanda offers free coaching and transitional services to Recovery Road graduates.

She is married with one child and an active leader in Aiken’s First Baptist Church.

Wesley Kinard, Board Member

Prior to obtaining his real estate license, Wesley and his wife have served their church through ministry for 9 years, and lead a Small Group in their home every week. He is a native of Aiken County and graduated from Aiken High School. Wesley and his wife have been married for 10 years and have two amazing children whom they adore. In his free time, you can find Wesley with his kids or watching college football, especially the Tigers, outdoors, or enjoying new hobbies like golf!

Wesley has dedicated his life to helping people. Now, as a member of the Cline Group and Recovery Road he has the opportunity to continue to help countless people accomplish great things.

Carlene Clark, Board Member

Carlene is a lifelong resident of Aiken County.  She and her husband John have 2 grown children, Daniel and Rebekah.   She is a member of Millbrook Baptist Church, where she serves in the Finance Ministry.

Carlene has worked in the banking industry for over 40 years and currently works for Security Federal Bank in the mortgage department.

In addition to serving on the board for Recovery Road Ministries, she currently volunteers in the Jail Ministry at Aiken County, Family Support with Habitat for Humanity, and with the Aiken Tennis Community.